Wine kit-- missed a step, please advise

I have a Heron Bay Shiraz kit that's been going for a few weeks.

Last night I transferred to tertiary and added sorbate, metabisulphite and kieselsol.

The directions say to stir vigorously 6 times over a 24 hour period, to release unwanted gases, so that the clearing agent will work properly.

I've been at work all day and haven't been able to do any of the stirring--and it's been nearly 24 hours. Should I:

• Just give it a bunch of vigorous stirs over the next few hours and then do the next step (adding Chitosan) before I go to bed? or,
• Should I give it another 24 hours and do all of the stirring it asks for (since tomorrow's Saturday) and add the Chitosan tomorrow night?

I'm mainly a beer guy and don't know much about winemaking, so I don't know whether I should prioritize the timing of ingredients or of the stirring.

Thanks,
chris.

You can start the stirring anytime. You have enough k-meta in there to prevent oxidation. ]
In my last kit, I stirred until my arm fell off. And then did it again an hour later. Kits are notorious for being gassy- but you can stir whenever now. Just remember to do it until you no longer see bubbles when you do stir. They actuallyl sell "wine whips" which hook up to your drill to aid in degassing.

Add the chitosan after all the degassing has been done, regardless of timing.

Ok, thank you for the quick response. I'll stir like crazy tonight and tomorrow morning. So there's no harm in waiting an extra day to add the chitosan?

chris.

You can wait a month or year to add the chitosan! It's a clearing agent. So, don't worry, just get the degassing completed first.

Yooper Brewmistress said:

In my last kit, I stirred until my arm fell off. They actuallyl sell "wine whips" which hook up to your drill to aid in degassing.

Click to expand...

You really should pick up one of these. They are great tools for wine, plus they are excellent for whirlpooling beer, and additions of gelatin or other secondary ingredients.

Alright I've been stirring like crazy every few hours for the past 24 hours, and the bubbles show no sign of stopping... always a thick froth on top. I'll probably pick up a wine whip tomorrow.

How do I know when it's sufficiently de-gassed? Will there literally be no bubbles?

chris.

It's been my experience you will always have some bubbles from stirring vigorously, even when degassed fully.

The best way to tell is to draw some off and put it in a santized small wine bottle. Cover it with your thumb and shake. There should be few bubbles.

I used two 3 gallon better bottles one time, and that worked great because I set them on the counter and shook them hard for 10 minutes at a time. Now that I'm using a 6 gallon carboy, I'm going to have to invest in a wine whip.

YooperBrew said:

They actually sell "wine whips" which hook up to your drill to aid in degassing.

Click to expand...

I actually have one of these and it worked great. I'm wondering if it could also be used in home brewing to aerate wort...

Yes it can. Works awesome.